Mortgage Broker Marketing - Sell Problems, Not Solutions

Are your marketing messages to Realtors® guilty of these promises?

- To render great customer service?
- To close loans on time?
- To offer the best competitive rates?
- To help them make more money?
- To deliver referrals or free leads?
- To co-market services?
- To qualify all buyers through a diversity of programs?

Guess what?Realtors® have heard this before. So much so, that they've become immune to listening. Your message is competing with other similar messages and getting lost in the noise. If you can't cut through the noise and stand out from competitors than you're invisible.

To Stand Out, Learn Their Language

You don't like hearing static during your favorite song played on the radio, why put real estate agents through that same pain. When you're engaged in conversation with agents talking about closing loans on time, returning calls promptly, keeping clients informed about their loan application that's like static beating on their eardrums.

Instead of speaking "Swahili", you need to speak their language. If you listened to a professional conversation between two realtors, what would you hear? They'll talk about listings, sales, commissions, referrals, open houses, marketing, policies that affect them, etc. In other words, they'll talk about real estate, not about mortgages. Why? Because that's their business.

To Stand Out, Understand Their Problems

Today, mortgages are a commodity, there's a mortgage guy on every corner. If an agent needs a loan officer, they can step outside their office door and have several choices within a city block.

But agents don't want a loan officer - they want someone who can help solve their problems. Reflect back for a moment on the conversation between two agents and you'll also hear them bicker about problems they can't solve.

"Builders are capping my commissions?"
"There's not enough inventory?"
"Sellers want me to reduce my commission rate?"
"I'm getting contracts on properties the night before the open house?"
"Investors are submitting ridiculous and embarrassing offers?"
"There's twice as many realtors farming my area this year?"
"My marketing isn't as effective as it used to be?"
"My buyers dumped me for another realtor?"
"I'm averaging only one sale a month?"
"I have very little repeat or referral business."
"I lost my listing to the competition?"
"My open houses produce little traffic and few good leads?"

If you want to stand out, understand their problems and facilitate solutions that solve them.

To Stand Out, Describe Problems - Not Solutions

With a solution in hand, you're ready to market a powerful message that'll get heard - the problem. Agents are more likely to listen if your message describes a problem, instead of the solution.

Think about this - your message communicates competency. Competency shows you understand the problem. Your message communicates - caring - because many agents don't believe loan officers care about them. Finally, your message communicates - potential - which stirs an agent's curiosity to learn more about your solution.

Their curiosity is what will spark their level of interest forward. You realize with more opportunities for one-to-one interactions, the more familiarity and trust can develop. Two key ingredients to successfully attracting the relationships you want.

To Stand Out, Get Noticed Through Associated Channels

Part of your marketing plan should include points of contact that your prospects can discover you. Of all the methods of communicating your messages, direct solicitation is always the toughest. To avoid this, make a list of points of contact you can use for future promotional activities.

Here are some questions to consider:

- Where do they network?
- What conferences or workshops do they attend?
- What magazines, publications and newsletters do they read?
- What websites do they visit frequently?
- What directories are they listed in?
- Where do they advertise their services?

Your promotional activities should be pointed toward these areas. Otherwise, you're left with direct solicitation that isn't the most effective way.

Jeff Nelson helps mortgage companies and individual loan officers increase loan originations by developing customized relationship-building strategies that secure quality relationships with real estate agents. Click here to get a free copy of the Marketing Planning Guide, a 20-page workbook designed to help you outline a strategy to becoming an Agent Magnet. Visit us at http://www.loan-officer-marketing.com

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